Information and opinion by a longtime advocate for recovery from addictions.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Bath Salts? You've got to be kidding!

That was my reaction when asked to do a presentation on Bath Salts to a local group of Adolescent Treatment Service Providers. I said, Mom would be so proud! I have now become the "go-to guy" for garbage drugs in Delaware County PA!

Well, kids, I was right and I was wrong. While there is a long and creepy history of use and abuse of household products to get high (and I was pretty sure that my research would lead in this direction) I was both surprised and appalled to discover that the current bath salt craze is less driven by the impulse to see what happens when you huff the Duster Buster Computer Cleaner Aerosol and more like a sophisticated and entirely legal manufacture and distribution of...cocaine?
Ecstasy?
Amphetamine?
LSD?

How about all of the above, and then some?

Now, let me be clear, when we are talking about Bath Salts in this context, we are not talking about products such as Epsom Salts or any number of perfectly safe products that people have been soaking in for years. These are essentially Designer Drugs, chemical compounds that are engineered to mimic popular drugs of abuse, but with enough of a difference to make them structurally different, and while just as addictive and probably more unpredictable, completely legal!

If a state legislature bans a particular substance, it's back to the lab to tweak the product a little, and then back in business with a similar substance with a different chemical signature.

To make matters even more interesting, these products are sold under a myriad of names, from thousands of retailers. They can be bought online, and in many gas stations and convenience stores.

Ken Williams

Hello, Friend

I've been an addiction counselor for over thirty years. I'm in long-term recovery from addiction. I am a husband and father; a member of several self help fellowships.

And I have something to say. Actually, quite a lot to say.

About addiction, about treatment, about the drug laws, about Recovery as both a personal journey and a social movement.

And about Interventions. I have been doing them for over twenty-five years, and there are things I see today, that while well-intentioned, range from ineffective to outright irresponsible and dangerous.

So, if you are interested in an ongoing discussion of the topics listed above as well as any other aspect of addiction and recovery, I hope that this will be a place to engage in that discussion.